The present invention relates to continuous business forms with releasable or peelable labels and particularly to continuous business forms comprised of a carrier sheet formed of a conventional paper composition, i.e., paper suitable for processing through business machines, and labels releasably adhered to the carrier sheet by transfer or release adhesive.
One type of a conventional business form comprises a carrier sheet on which peelable or releasable labels are adhered. The labels are adhered by use of conventional pressure sensitive adhesive. The labels may thus be peeled from the carrier sheet and applied to another surface using the adhesive. For example, address labels are conventionally adhered to a carrier sheet by conventional pressure sensitive adhesive. The address labels and carrier sheet are often disposed in a printer, i.e., a typewriter, so that printing may be applied to the label. Thereafter, the label may be peeled from the carrier sheet for application to another surface, for example an envelope, using the conventional pressure sensitive adhesive as the adhering medium.
In business form applications of this type, the carrier or backing sheet is conventionally formed by applying a wax or silicone coating to the sheet. This is necessary to enable the conventional acrylic based pressure sensitive adhesive applied to the label to release from the carrier sheet when the label is peeled therefrom and applied to another surface. Wax or silicon coated sheets, however, are expensive to manufacture and are normally discarded after the labels are removed. It is recognized that release or transfer adhesive has been used previously to adhere paper to other surfaces. For example, stock business forms like memo pads, such as message or telephone pads, conventionally use a release or transfer adhesive applied along a marginal portion of superposed paper sheets to adhere the paper sheets one to the other and thereby form a pad. However, to applicants knowledge, there has not been prior use of release or transfer adhesive in continuous business forms employing a carrier sheet formed of conventional paper of the type suitable for processing through business machines with a multiplicity of labels releasably adhered to the carrier sheet by the transfer adhesive.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a continuous business form comprised of a carrier sheet formed of a conventional paper composition suitable for processing through business machines on one or both of which surfaces is adhesively secured by means of release or transfer adhesive a plurality of peelable labels. The carrier sheet is preferably provided with a series of spaced holes along a side margin for use in conjunction with conventional printing apparatus. Thus, the labels are applied to conventional paper forming the carrier sheet by release or transfer adhesive carried by the labels. This enables the labels to be peeled from the carrier sheet for application to another surface and without affecting the characteristics of the carrier sheet surface in contact with the adhesive when the labels were adhered thereto. In this manner, the labels can be peeled from the conventional paper of the carrier sheet, applied to another surface or repeatedly reapplied to additional surfaces, while at the same time the conventional carrier sheet may be used for other purposes, for example, as draft paper.
It will be appreciated that the labels may be provided in any shape or configuration on the carrier sheet and that preferably the transfer or release adhesive is applied to the entirety of the undersurface of the labels applied to the carrier sheet. Thus, the adhesively backed forms portion, e.g., the labels, may be disposed on the forms carrier sheet with releasable or transfer adhesive and can be readily and easily separated from the carrier sheet notwithstanding that the carrier sheet is formed of a paper suitable for processing through business machines. The additional expense of coating carrier paper with silicone or wax is thereby avoided. Paper wastage and attendant cost incident to discarding coated carrier sheet paper is similarly avoided.
Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a continuous business form comprising a continuous form carrier sheet formed of paper suitable for processing through business machines, a plurality of forms disposed on the carrier sheet and a transfer adhesive carried by the forms and disposed between the carrier sheet and the forms for release of the carrier sheet and the forms one from the other to enable the forms to be separated from the carrier sheet and adhered to another surface using the same adhesive. Preferably, the margin of the carrier sheet is punched to provide a plurality of openings spaced therealong and from one another for compatibility with conventional drive mechanisms for printers.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a continuous form paper product comprised of a continuous form carrier sheet formed of paper suitable for processing through business machines, a plurality of forms disposed on the carrier sheet and means carried by the forms and disposed between the carrier sheet and the forms for releasably securing the carrier sheet and the forms one to the other including a releasable, reusable adhesive having a tack sufficiently high to maintain the carrier sheet and forms secured one to the other and sufficiently low to enable the forms and adhesive carrier to be separated from the carrier sheet without affecting the surface characteristics of the carrier sheet in contact with the adhesive and enabling the forms to be adhered to another surface using the adhesive. This also enables use of the carrier sheet similarly as paper suitable for processing through business machines may be used, for example, as draft paper.
In a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a continuous business form with peelable forms on a carrier sheet comprising the steps of providing a carrier sheet formed of conventional paper composition in a continuous sheet form, providing a plurality of forms in continuous sheet form, applying a transfer adhesive to one side of the forms, pressing the forms against the carrier sheet to adhere the sheet and the forms one to the other and cutting the sheet of forms on the carrier to provide discrete forms thereon.
In a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using a continuous business form with peelable labels on a carrier sheet including providing a carrier sheet formed of a paper suitable for processing through business machines and having a printable surface, providing labels fixed to the carrier sheet by transfer adhesive, peeling the labels from the carrier sheet, applying the labels to another surface by pressing the adhesive thereof against such other surface and printing on the carrier sheet.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide novel and improved continuous business forms and methods of forming and using such continuous business forms having a forms portion, e.g., labels, releasably adhered to a carrier sheet by transfer adhesive and transferable therefrom for adherence to other surfaces, wherein the carrier sheet may be inexpensively constructed of a conventional paper composition for service as both a carrier sheet and as a substrate on which information may be printed. These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification, appended claims and drawings.